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View recently adopted ordinances as of January 13, 2009 NOT YET CODIFIED OR INTEGRATED IN THIS SITE. (pdf file)

Ordinances enacted through January 13, 2009

Copyrighted by SANTA CLARA COUNTY CODE & Municipal Code Corporation, 1998.

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Sec. B11-67. Private sewage disposal system.

(a) At any residence, place of business, or other building where there is installed a water flush toilet sewage disposal system which is not connected to an approved sanitary sewer, there must be installed a private on-site sewage disposal system consisting of a septic tank and subsurface leaching system for the disposal of the tank effluent. The septic tank and subsurface leaching system must be so constructed as to meet the requirements of construction and maintenance prescribed by this chapter and the rules and regulations of the Director.

(b) Sewage disposal systems must be installed in accordance with the plans approved by the Director. Any changes in the installation plans must be reviewed and approved by the Director or appropriate California Regional Quality Control Board prior to installation.

(c) No person may construct, add to, repair or alter any existing sewage disposal system without first submitting plans to the Director for approval and obtaining a permit pursuant to the requirements of this chapter.

(d) The septic tank effluent must discharge into an approved subsurface leaching system.

(e) Two leaching systems (dual leaching), each 100 percent of the total size required by the Director, must be installed and interconnected with an approved flow diversion device. A riser must extend from this device to or above the ground surface. This device must be rotated once each year so that each leaching system is dosed with septic tank effluent on alternate years.

(f) In addition to the dual leaching system, the Director reserves the authority to require that an additional area of the property suitable for 100 percent expansion of the subsurface leaching system, be designated and reserved.

(g) Sewage disposal systems must be located to be easily accessible for maintenance and repairs.

(h) At the discretion of the Director, an inspection riser may be required at the end of each drainline.

(i) The Director will require soil percolation tests and at least one soil boring or excavation per site. Additional exploratory tests or other information may be required to verify adequate depth of permeable soil and/or separation between trench bottom and groundwater. Where the Director has adequate evidence to demonstrate suitable permeable soil and groundwater separation, testing requirements may be waived.

(j) Soil percolation tests will be required on every parcel unless the Director determines, on a case-by-case basis, that a percolation test is not necessary. The Director will determine the percolation test method and the number and location of the percolation test borings.

(k) When a geological report is required by the County Geologist, it must be made available to the Director.

(l) A private sewage disposal system may not be approved or permitted when any of the following conditions exist:

(1) Less than ten feet of permeable soil exists beneath the bottom of the proposed leaching field trenches. Permeable soil is defined as having a percolation rate of 120 minutes per inch or faster or having a clay content of less than 60 percent;

(2) Any portion of the drainfield area has been covered with fill exceeding 12 inches in depth.

(3) The minimum distance between trench bottom and groundwater does not conform to the following:

Percolation Rate (minutes/inch)	Distance
Less than 1	Disapproved
1--5	20'
6--120	8'*
More than 120	Disapproved

*If the percolation rate is 31 to 120 minutes per inch and a wet weather groundwater investigation has been conducted pursuant to rules and regulations approved by the Director, the minimum separation between trench bottom and groundwater may be reduced to five feet.

(4) Soils or rock formations contain continuous channels, cracks or fractures.

(5) The area is subject to ponding or flooding. The definition of "area subject to flooding" is the Santa Clara Valley Water District's ten-year floodplain designation or areas observed to be subject to flooding from field observations.

(6) Slopes exceed 20 percent, except as otherwise provided in Section B11-83.

(7) The following setback distance requirements cannot be provided for the sewage disposal system:

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Minimum Distances (in feet) Measured From:	Disposal Field	Septic Tank
All wells and springs	100	100
Watercourses* (top of bank)	100	100
Reservoirs (highwater mark)	200	200
Cuts or steep embankments (top of cut)	4 h**	10 feet
Steep slopes*** (break of slope)	4 h**	10 feet
Drainageway/swale (break of slope)	50	50
Foundation	10	5
Property line	10	10
Septic tanks	6	N/A
Swimming pool	10	10
Road easement, pavement, or driveway	5	5

*Watercourse--A running stream fed from permanent or natural sources, including rivers, creeks, runs, and rivulets. There must be a stream, usually flowing in a particular direction (though it need not flow continuously) in a definite channel, having a bed or banks and usually discharging into some stream or body of water.

**h equals the height of cut or embankment in feet. This setback distance requirement must not be less than 25 feet nor more than 100 feet.

***As defined by the Regional Water Quality Control Board having jurisdiction, but not exceeding 67 percent.

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(m) No private sewage disposal system may be approved on any parcel of land where the percolation rate exceeds 120 min/inch or is less than one min/inch.

(n) No part of any private sewage disposal system may cross any property line.

(o) Upon notice from the Director that work on the sewage disposal system is being conducted in violation of this chapter, or in an unsafe or dangerous manner, the work must be immediately stopped. The stop-work order must be in writing and must be issued to the owner of the property involved, or to the owner's agent, or to the person doing the work. It must state the conditions under which work may be resumed.

(Ord. No. NS-517.72, § 2, 4-15-03)

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